Vienna, Austria / New York, USA
The Haas Violin tells the remarkable story of survival and renewal through music. Though Joseph Haas seldom spoke of his youth in Vienna or his journey to America, the details that have surfaced reveal a life shaped by courage, loss, and the sustaining power of art.
Born on March 10, 1922, Joseph grew up in Vienna’s 17th district, where his parents operated a small corner market and managed a dairy cooperative. His childhood was ordinary and full of promise—until everything changed on March 12, 1938, when the German Wehrmacht entered Austria in the Anschluss.
What followed was swift and brutal. Jewish citizens were humiliated and beaten in the streets, their shops looted, their institutions dismantled. By the end of 1941, more than 130,000 Jews had fled Vienna, among them sixteen-year-old Joseph Haas. Traveling alone, he left for the United States via Rotterdam on November 15, 1939, carrying with him only a few possessions—one of them, this violin. His father had already died of illness, and his mother would later be lost in the Holocaust.
Arriving in Brooklyn, New York, Joseph lived with his aunt, learning English and building a new life from nothing. He continued to play his violin, finding in music both comfort and continuity. In 1943, at the age of 21, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. Fluent in both English and German, Joseph served in Europe, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and later assisted in the interrogations of captured German officers, including Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. During his service, he was granted U.S. citizenship and a Certificate of Naturalization.
After the war, Joseph married, raised a family, and pursued a long career in the pharmaceutical industry. Yet his violin remained central to his life. He played with local and amateur orchestras in New York, and through his work, was eventually invited to join the Doctors Orchestral Society of New York. With that ensemble, Joseph achieved a lifelong dream—performing at Carnegie Hall, where the same violin that had crossed an ocean and a war now sang freely once again.
Today, the Haas Violin embodies a journey from persecution to triumph, from exile to belonging. Through Joseph’s story, it continues to speak for all who found strength, purpose, and hope in the enduring voice of music.
